Live updates: Iran launches missile attack at Israel, Netanyahu vows to retaliate

The U.N. Security Council has scheduled an emergency meeting on the escalating situation in the Middle East for Wednesday at 10 a.m., at the request of France and Israel.

Israel’s U.N. Ambassador Danny Danon said in a letter to the council late Tuesday that the Iranian ballistic missile attack on Israel “demonstrates that the charm offensive conducted by Iran and its new president is a mirage and the decision-making in Iran lies with the Supreme Leader and the Revolutionary Guards.”

He accused Iran of trying to destroy Israel “with a ring of fire from seven fronts” and urged the Security Council to condemn the country and designate its Revolutionary Guard Corps as a terrorist organization.

Several international airlines requested permission to make emergency landings in Azerbaijan following the closure of Iranian air space.

Iran, which launched a massive barrage of missiles on Israel on Tuesday, closed its airspace in case Israel retaliated, Iranian news agencies reported.

Iran is south of Azerbaijan and the two countries share a border.

A LOT Polish airlines flight from Warsaw to Mumbai and a Qatar Airways flight from Moscow to Doha both landed at the Heydar Aliyev airport in Baku, the airport’s press service said.

Both flights were Boeing 787s and landed within minutes of each other just before 10 p.m. local time, the airport said.

U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin is in discussions with his counterpart in Israel after Iran fired a barrage of almost 200 missiles at the nation.

Austin received a short update from Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and “is consulting closely with them on next steps,” Pentagon press secretary Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder told reporters Tuesday.

Iran launched about twice as many ballistic missiles Tuesday as it did during an attack against Israel earlier this year, but it did not appear to launch drones, Ryder said.

A full assessment of Tuesday’s attack is underway, he said. The Israeli military said Iran fired 170 drones, more than 30 cruise missiles and more than 120 ballistic missiles in the April attack.

Ryder said two U.S. Navy destroyers — the USS Cole and the USS Bulkeley — fired about a dozen interceptors to defend Israel in the latest attack.

He decried reports indicating Iran wants to de-escalate tensions in the region.

“You don’t launch that many missiles at a target without the intent on hitting something,” Ryder said.

Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris has condemned the missile attack on Israel by Iran, calling Tehran “a destabilizing, dangerous force in the Middle East.”

The vice president said Tuesday that she supports President Joe Biden’s decision to shoot down the missiles targeting Israel.

“We are still assessing the impact but initial indications are that Israel, with our assistance, was able to defeat this attack,” she says.

She says her commitment to Israel is “unwavering,” and warns that Iran is more than a threat to Israel.

“Iran is also a threat to American personnel in the region, American interests and innocent civilians across the region who suffer at the hands of Iran-based and -backed terrorist proxies,” she says.

President Joe Biden says his administration is “fully supportive” of Israel after it thwarted an Iranian missile attack and that he’s in “active discussion” with aides about an appropriate response.

Biden also praised the U.S. and Israel militaries for defeating the Iranian missile barrage.

“Make no mistake, the United States is fully, fully supportive of Israel,” Biden said Tuesday at the start of a meeting with White House officials focused on the administration’s response to Hurricane Helene.

White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan said soon after the attack that it amounted to a “significant escalation by Iran.”

Biden said it remains to be seen what consequences Iran will face.

“Iran made a big mistake tonight and it will pay for it,” Netanyahu said as he gathered his Security Cabinet for a meeting late Tuesday.

Netanyahu said the missile attack was a failure and that Iran would soon learn a painful lesson just as enemies in Gaza, Lebanon and other places have learned.

“Whoever attacks us, we attack them,” he said.

Police have cordoned off areas around the Israeli Embassy in Stockholm after reports of a shooting.

Local newspaper Expressen said Tuesday that a weapon and at least one empty bullet casing were found near the embassy and that police are looking for a suspect who fled the scene.

Stockholm police told the Swedish news agency TT that police were investigating reports of a loud bang but wouldn’t confirm that a shooting took place.

Security around the embassy has been stepped up this year following threats and incidents, including reports of a “dangerous object” found in the vicinity of the embassy that Swedish media described as a hand grenade.

Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard said 90% of missiles it launched against Israel hit their targets successfully.

The statement broadcast on state TV late Tuesday said the attack targeted air and radar bases as well as security apparatus that planned the killing of senior Hamas and Hezbollah figures.

It said Iran has a right to defend itself under international regulations.

The TV station showed footage of missiles being launched in the darkness from unidentified locations in Iran.

Iranian state television, long controlled by hard-liners, has aired images of people in Arak, Qom and Tehran celebrating Iran’s missile attack in Israel.

Some shouted, “God is great!” “Death to America” and “Death to Israel.”

However, Iran’s support of regional militias abroad has been a point of anger during protests as the country suffers under international sanctions.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has condemned Iran’s attack on Israel during a call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Starmer was on the phone with Netanyahu when the barrage of missiles began Tuesday, further escalating the situation in the Middle East.

He reiterated the U.K.’s commitment to Israel’s security and the protection of civilians, but emphasized the importance of seeking cease-fires in Lebanon and Gaza, the prime minister’s office said in a readout of the call.

Starmer also spoke with Jordan’s King Abdullah II and they both called for de-escalation of fighting in the region.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken says Iran fired around 200 ballistic missiles at Israel.

“This is totally unacceptable, and the entire world should condemn it,” he said during a meeting Tuesday with the Indian foreign minister at the State Department.

Blinken says initial reports suggest Israel, along with allies including the U.S., “effectively defeated this attack,” underscoring Washington’s “commitment to Israel’s defense.”

National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan told reporters at the White House that U.S. destroyers fired missile interceptors at some of the inbound missiles.

Sullivan called the attack “a significant escalation by Iran,” and reiterated there would be “severe consequences” on Iran for the attack.

Palestinian medical officials say Israeli forces have killed at least three people trying to return to their homes in the northern half of Gaza Strip.

Israeli forces stationed at the east-west Netzarim route that divides the Palestinian enclave opened fire on the men Tuesday, according to the al-Aqsa Martyrs hospital in the central town of Deir al-Bahah.

An Associated Press journalist saw ambulances taking people to the hospital, and counted the bodies.

The officials said the men were among a group of people trying to return to their homes.

The Israeli military has sealed off northern Gaza and is preventing displaced people from returning to their homes there.

Iran-backed Iraqi militias say if the U.S. takes part in “any hostile action” against Iran then American interests in the region will be under threat.

The statement Tuesday from the group calling itself the Coordination Committee for the Iraqi Resistance also warned Israel against using Iraqi airspace to retaliate against Iran for a missile barrage fired at Israel, saying “all American bases and interests in Iraq and the region will be our target.”

Iran-backed militias in Iraq regularly target bases housing U.S. forces in Iraq and Syria with drones, saying they are retaliating for Washington’s support of Israel in its war against Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon.

Israel police say six people have been killed in a shooting in Tel Aviv.

Police say two suspects opened fire Tuesday evening on a boulevard in Jaffa, a mixed Arab-Jewish neighborhood in southern Tel Aviv. The two suspects were killed.

The attack came moments before a massive barrage of rockets from Iran sent people into bomb shelters across Israel, including in Tel Aviv.

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has condemned “the broadening of the Middle East conflict, with escalation after escalation.”

Guterres’ comments Tuesday came shortly after Iran said it fired dozens of ballistic missiles at Israel. The Israeli military said its army has crossed the border into Lebanon and is conducting “localized ground raids” on Hezbollah positions.

“This must stop,” the U.N. chief said in a statement Tuesday. “We absolutely need a cease-fire.”

BEIRUT — The Lebanese Hezbollah militant group says media published by the Israeli military showing its cross-border forays into Lebanon have nothing to do with the ongoing conflict.

The Israeli military says its army has been carrying out secretive ground operations to destroy Hezbollah infrastructure in Lebanese villages close to the border for the past year and has released footage of what it said was Israeli soldiers uncovering tunnels and weapons in Lebanese villages.

Hezbollah said in a statement Tuesday that picture and videos that the Israeli military says show tunnels and houses entered by Israeli soldiers are “very old and have no relationship to any current military action on the Lebanese border.”

It says the images are part of a “psychological and propaganda war.”

The Israeli military has said its forces entered Lebanon overnight to begin a “limited” ground incursion. Hezbollah denies that any Israeli troops have crossed the border.

Israel’s airport authority says the country’s airspace has been closed and incoming flights are being diverted to airports outside the country.

The airspace closure Tuesday followed an Israeli military announcement that Iran had launched missiles at the country. It warned Israelis to take shelter as air raid sirens sounded, and explosions could be heard in Tel Aviv and near Jerusalem.

Iran said it launched dozens of ballistic missiles at Israel in retaliation for the killing of Hezbollah and Hamas leaders.

BEIRUT — Israel’s military says it killed a senior Hezbollah operative in an airstrike on an apartment building on the edge of Beirut.

The Israeli military says Mohammed Jaafar Qassir was killed in a strike Tuesday afternoon. It says Qassir was in charge of Hezbollah’s Unit 4400 that ships weapons from Iran to Lebanon and he supervised Hezbollah’s development of precision-guided missiles.

The Israeli military said Qassir also sent hundreds of millions of dollars to Hezbollah in recent years.

There was no immediate comment from Hezbollah on the Israeli claim.

Qassir’s brother Ahmad carried out a suicide attack in southern Israeli port city of Tyre in 1982 that killed dozens of Israeli soldiers. His death is marked annually as “Martyr’s Day.”

Iran says it has launched dozens of ballistic missiles at Israel.

The claim came in a statement read aloud on state television Tuesday as air raid sirens sounded and explosions were heard in Tel Aviv and near Jerusalem.

The statement warned that “if Israel responds militarily to this operation, it will face a harsher response.”

JERUSALEM — The Israeli military says Iran has fired missiles at Israel, and air raid sirens are sounding across the country.

Military spokesperson Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari released a video statement Tuesday saying “the air defense system is fully operational, detecting and intercepting threats wherever necessary, even at this moment.”

Soon after, a series of explosions were heard in Tel Aviv and near Jerusalem. It was not immediately known if they were interceptions or incoming missiles landing. The explosions near Jerusalem were so loud that windows shook.

Residents were ordered to shelter in place and remain close to bomb shelters. The order was sent to mobile phones and announced on national television. TV stations reported sirens in parts of Jerusalem as well as central Israel.

Iranian media posted videos that appeared to show missile launches at several sites across the country, but the Iranian government did not immediately acknowledge what was happening.

The alerts were sounded after a day of rocket and missile attacks from Lebanon. Israeli authorities also warned that Iran might be preparing a missile attack.

Israel has warned there would be “repercussions” if Iran attacks.

The Israeli military is urging the public to stay close to sheltered areas and says it takes seriously the possibility of an attack by Iran.

Military spokesperson Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari said Tuesday that Israelis must obey public safety guidelines issued by the military’s Home Front Command.

“The Iranian strike could be widespread. Following Home Front Command guidelines can save lives,” Hagari said.

WASHINGTON — A U.S. official has said Iran may strike Israel within the next 12 hours, with an attack that could be as big as or bigger than strikes earlier this year.

However, the official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to provide details on a sensitive matter, cautioned that Iran has been postured to conduct such an attack since August – in order to be able to strike on short notice – and that the U.S. has not seen significant changes in Iran’s posture in the last day or so.

Iran launched an unprecedented direct attack on Israel in April, but few of its projectiles reached their targets. Many were shot down by a U.S.-led coalition, while others apparently failed at launch or crashed in flight.

UNITED NATIONS — The United Nations chief is appealing for an immediate ceasefire in Lebanon, warning that escalation to an all-out war between Israel and Hezbollah militants must be avoided “at all costs.”

U.N. spokesperson Stephane Dujarric, who delivered the message from Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, stressed that the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Lebanon must be respected.

Guterres spoke earlier Tuesday to Lebanon’s Prime Minister Najib Mikati and told him the U.N. system is mobilized to assist those in need, Dujarric said. He also appealed to the international community to urgently support a $426 million humanitarian appeal to help the people of Lebanon.

ANKARA, Turkey — Turkey’s Foreign Ministry has established a coordination center to assist citizens wishing to leave Lebanon, warning that the situation there could worsen.

Turkey has developed evacuation plans by sea and air, the ministry said. It did not elaborate.

Nearly 20 countries have requested Turkey’s assistance in evacuating their citizens, by using Turkish ports, airports and airspace, or by including their citizens in Turkey’s evacuation plans, the ministry said.

WASHINGTON — The State Department has ordered all U.S. diplomats and their families based in Israel and the West Bank to shelter in place until further notice as the security situation becomes increasingly uncertain with Israel’s ground incursion in Lebanon and potential threats of an Iranian missile attack.

“As a result of the current security situation, the U.S. Embassy has directed all U.S. government employees and their family members to shelter in place until further notice,” the embassy in Jerusalem said Tuesday in a notice to American citizens.

“This is provided for your information as you make your own security plans,” it said. “The security environment remains complex and can change quickly depending on the political situation and recent events.”

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken says the Biden administration is watching the situation between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon “very closely” and “very carefully” but is committed to Israel’s defense and security.

Speaking Tuesday before talks with the visiting foreign minister of Morocco, Blinken did not address the threat to Israel posed by a potential Iranian ballistic missile launch that was identified by the White House shortly before he spoke.

“The United States is committed to Israel’s defense,” he said. “We’re watching developments, as I said, very carefully at this moment.”

An Israeli airstrike struck a residential building near the Lebanese capital Beirut on Tuesday, causing damage and blowing out windows in the area.

The strike appeared to hit an apartment in the building on the southern highway leading up to Beirut international airport, and about 100 meters (yards) from the Iranian Embassy.

The Israeli military said it carried out an attack in Beirut, without giving further details.
There was no immediate word on casualties.

A Bulgarian government jet left for Beirut for the second day to pick up the remaining Bulgarian citizens who wanted to be evacuated, the prime minister said Tuesday.

Dimitar Glavchev said 61 Bulgarians had asked to be evacuated on the second trip. A total of 89 people, mostly families with children, were evacuated from Lebanon on Monday.

Glavchev said that empty seats on Tuesday’s flight will be offered to citizens of other EU countries.

Speaking out against Israel’s ground offensive in southern Lebanon, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan claimed on Tuesday that Israel would “set its sights” on Turkey next.

In a speech marking the opening of parliament following its summer recess, Erdogan criticized both the international community and the Islamic world for failing to stop Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s actions in Gaza and Lebanon. He vowed to stand strong against Israel and to support Lebanon.

“Although some people persistently refuse to see it, the Netanyahu government is dreaming a crude dream that includes Anatolia,” Erdogan said, referring to a large swathe of Turkey.

“The place that Israel – which is acting with the delirium of the promised lands – will set its sights on after Palestine and Lebanon will be our homeland,” he said.

Oil prices jumped on worries about the potential for increased violence in the Middle East and for disruptions to the flow of crude from the region.

A barrel of benchmark U.S. crude rose 2.7% to top $70. Brent crude, the international benchmark, rose 2.6% to $73.57 a barrel.

Egypt’s top diplomat on Tuesday deplored Israel’s “serious escalation” in southern Lebanon, after the Israeli military said it launched a “limited and focused” ground incursion.

Foreign Minister Badr Abdelaty warned that Israel’s escalation threatens to inflame the entire region “in a way that will lead to dire security and humanitarian consequences,” according to a statement from the Egyptian Foreign Ministry.

Abdelaty also said Egypt will reject any attempts to establish a new status quo that violates Lebanon’s sovereignty.

Iran is preparing to “imminently” launch a ballistic missile attack on Israel, according to a senior U.S. administration official, who warned Tuesday of “severe consequences” should it take place.

The official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the matter, said the U.S. is actively supporting Israeli defensive preparations.

This comes after the Israeli military on Tuesday warned people to evacuate nearly two dozen Lebanese border communities hours after announcing what it said were limited ground operations against Hezbollah.

Syria’s Defense Ministry said that Israeli strikes targeted several areas in capital Damascus early Tuesday.

Air defenses shot down most of the missiles, but three civilians were killed and nine others injured, it said. Among those killed was a well-known television news anchor, Safaa Ahmad.

Israel frequently targets Syrian military sites and locations associated with Iran-backed groups, but strikes inside the city of Damascus are rare.

Israeli airstrikes have killed at least 19 people in the Gaza Strip, including five women and three children, Palestinian medical officials said Tuesday.

Israel has continued to strike what it says are militant targets across Gaza even as attention has shifted to Lebanon and the military’s rapidly accelerating campaign against Hezbollah.

Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital received the bodies of 11 people after a strike late Monday in the built-up Nuseirat refugee camp. Survivors struggled to identify the remains.

Another eight people were killed in a strike that hit a vehicle in a tent camp in the southern city of Khan Younis, according to the nearby Nasser Hospital. Associated Press reporters counted the bodies at both hospitals.

The Israeli army has been carrying out secretive ground operations to destroy Hezbollah infrastructure in Lebanese villages close to the border for the past year, military spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari said Tuesday.

He said that the current ground maneuvers in Lebanon are an expansion of the previous year’s operations.

The military released footage of what it said were Israeli soldiers uncovering tunnels and weapons in at least three Lebanese villages.

He said that troops destroyed more than more than 700 Hezbollah sites, including tunnels carved deep into the hillside. They included separate rooms for storing weapons and what seemed to be bedrooms outfitted with mattresses.

Hagari said that Hezbollah was preparing to carry out an Oct. 7-style attack against Israel, based on the placement of weapons slicks and maps uncovered during operations that refer to a plan called “Conquer the Galilee.”

The Israeli military says its troops have carried out dozens of small ground operations in Lebanon over the past year.

Military spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari told reporters on Tuesday that Israeli forces have crossed the border to collect information and destroy infrastructure belonging to the Hezbollah militant group.

He said they also blew up tunnels and arsenals.

Hezbollah’s media office says an Israeli airstrike on Beirut’s southern suburb destroyed the building housing the offices of a religious TV station.

The media office said that there were no weapons stored in the building where Al-Sirat TV, a Shiite Muslim religious TV station, had its offices.

Prior to Tuesday’s strike, the Israeli military had warned people to evacuate several buildings south of Beirut late Monday, saying they were linked to Hezbollah interests. There was no word on casualties.

The Israeli military has announced new restrictions on public gatherings and closed beaches following Hezbollah rocket fire.

The new guidelines announced Tuesday came after Israel said it had launched a limited ground incursion into Lebanon to combat the militant group.

Hezbollah fired a salvo of medium-range rockets into central Israel that wounded one person earlier Tuesday.

Amnesty international has appealed to Montenegro and Slovenia to stop a Portuguese-flagged cargo ship, believed to be carrying explosives bound for Israel, from docking at their ports.

The rights group said that such cargo “would contribute to the commission of war crimes in Gaza.”

The MV Kathrin left Vietnam’s Hai Phong port on July 21, Amnesty said. Namibian authorities on Aug. 24 revoked previously granted permission for the ship to enter Namibia’s main harbor, citing information from the ship’s operator that some of the explosives on board were destined for Israel.

The ship reportedly was trying to dock at the Slovenian port of Koper or Bar in Montenegro. On Tuesday, it was located not far from Bar and was expected to arrive there on Thursday, according to the Marine Traffic global ship tracking monitor.

Norwegian Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide on Tuesday said that Iran’s president, Masoud Pezeshkian, was sending a signal that it does not want a wider regional conflict.

“The really big war will come if there is a direct confrontation between Iran and Israel,” he told reporters is Oslo. “So far it has not happened, and Iran’s newly elected president is sending clear signals that they do not want it. “

Barth Eide said that the conflict in Lebanon between Israel and the militant group Hezbollah was “exactly the escalation we have feared for a long time,” going from “a very dramatic situation in Gaza and the West Bank to a more international conflict.”

Spanish Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares has urged 1,000 Spanish civilians currently in Lebanon to leave the country and for Israel to stop its assault.

Albares said there are still commercial flights available to leave, but that he is in contact with Spain’s defense ministry to prepare a possible evacuation.

“The land invasion of Lebanon must stop,” Albares said, while also demanding the end of Israeli operations in Gaza and the return of the Israeli hostages held by Hamas.

Spain has 676 soldiers in Lebanon deployed under a United Nations peacekeeping mission.

Britain’s top diplomat is calling for an immediate cease-fire in both Lebanon and Gaza, as he urged both Israel and Iran to show restraint and avoid “a regional escalation.”

Foreign Secretary David Lammy told British broadcasters that “we will continue to speak to the Israelis and indeed to other actors in the Middle East,” including Iran.

“We are urging restraint. None of us want to see a regional war, the price would be huge for the Middle East and it would have a significant effect on the global economy,” he said.

The Israeli military said it shot dead two militants following an exchange of fire during a raid in the West Bank city of Nablus.

The Palestinian Health Ministry said a 33-year-old man was killed Monday by Israeli fire in the Nablus’ old city. Another man, 25 years old, was fatally shot by Israeli forces nearby in the Balata refugee camp. The militant group Hamas later claimed the older man as one of its fighters.

One soldier was seriously injured and three others were moderately hurt, the army said.

Hezbollah has denied that Israeli troops have entered Lebanon but says its fighters are ready for a “direct confrontation” if they cross the border.

In its first statement since Israel announced the start of ground operations, Hezbollah spokesman Mohammed Afif said reports that Israeli forces had entered Lebanon were “false claims.”

He said Hezbollah fighters are ready “to have direct confrontation with enemy forces that dare to or try to enter Lebanon to inflict casualties among them.”

He also said Hezbollah’s firing of medium-range missiles toward central Israel earlier on Tuesday “is only the beginning.”

Correction: The name of Hezbollah spokesman was misspelled in a previous version of this post.

Turkey condemned the Israeli ground forces’ incursion into southern Lebanon on Tuesday, labeling it an “unlawful invasion attempt” and demanding an immediate cessation of the offensive and the withdrawal of Israeli troops.

In a statement, the Turkish Foreign Ministry warned that the incursion jeopardizes the security and stability of countries in and out of the region, heightening the risk of a new wave of migration and the resurgence of extremist groups. The statement said countries that provide political support and arms to Israel would also be affected.

“The U.N. Security Council must uphold international law and take necessary measures against this assault aimed at occupying Lebanon. Every crime committed by Israel is also a blow to international law and the U.N. Charter,” the statement said.